williamsews

 A shirt made of fabric printed with stylised trees. I have plundered the cache of quilting fabrics again and this looks good as a shirt; it's medium-weight cotton which will be perfect because it's almost autumn. This is a closeup, showing the trees. Nice stuff and very retro, reminds me of the type of designs from my childhood. Feels good to wear. A new idea (for me anyway) with collars & cuffs. I usually just pin the collar to the shirt with both pieces even but now allow about .5 of a millimetre overhang on the collar or cuff. The small amount of overhang makes a good fit when top-stitched. I don't think I can scrounge much more fabric from the quilting cupboard, so am going to the big city shop, Spotlight, for more fabric and notions. I am looking forward to rummaging. Take care, Regards, Will.

  I like this one, the fabric is a crisp polycotton. I started to make it with a lemon trim but the more I did, the less I liked it, so the unpicker came into play. The result is much better. A while ago I started pressing the sleeve plackets before I attached them, then for some reason, I went back to sewing them flat, but pressing them first makes the job much easier.  Pre-pressed makes the job easy. That's my lot for today, Take care, Will. 

  Flour sack fabrics were borne out of necessity and poverty during the Great Depression of the 1930s and the patterns endure today. Families were so poor that women made clothes; dresses, shirts, toys, etc, out of the cotton bags that contained flour. When the manufacturers realised this, they began to print the bags with fashionable designs. The patterns were quite beautiful. I have bought new copies of the fabrics and, along with US Civil War or Victorian patterns, they are my favourite. Reusable sacks were a wonderful idea, I suppose people don’t buy in such bulk anymore. It’s recycling at its best. Still making shirts but fabric is becoming scarce. I will have to face the world soon. Take care, Will,

  A lot of birds visit my garden, along with butterflies and bees and I don’t like to use toxic products, I have been using Roundup in the areas away from creatures but that has made weeds a problem – I usually let them grow and pull them out (or leave them), one is tedious and the other untidy. Non-toxic has to be the answer. I researched this and the main ingredients seem to be; Salt, white vinegar and dishwashing liquid. The recipes vary, so I just tried different mixtures and it doesn’t seem to matter much – probably more is best. The rules seem to be that the vinegar and salt are the killers and the dishwashing liquid is the accomplice because it helps the mixture cling to the weeds. The mix is lots of salt and vinegar and a cup or so of liquid. The result is amazing, this gravelled area was smothered in weeds just a week or so after weeding but I sprayed this area two months ago and not a weed. The downside, if there is one, is that nothing will ever grow where salt is used a...

  A new shirt finished, great fabric and pattern. The colour is richer than the photograph. Like this, the camera on the new tablet isn’t as good as my old iPad. There is enough of the same pattern in a tan colourway for another shirt for someone else…my next project. These are from my quilting fabrics because I don’t want to travel far these days. The tan is also nice, it’s an easy pattern to use, it doesn’t seem to have an actual beginning or end. Hot and humid today, summer will soon be over. Keep well, Regards, Will.

  Hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Year. Finished a new shirt, for someone else. It was difficult fabric to handle; it frayed and was loosely woven, didn’t like being ironed, and generally a menace but it’s good to be challenged from time to time. This is it. There is no more fabric in my cupboard except a winter piece, I was going to the fabric shop this week but I may buy some online, although it’s better to feel and handle fabric before buying, that’s part of the pleasure. Now the festive season is over, shipping will probably be easier. The recipient decided on yellow buttons, a good choice. That’s my lot for now. Take care, Will.

 "Gingham"  comes from the Malayan word genggang, or "striped."  The way we identify gingham, is as being a contrasting-check shirt, this was not how the fabric was originally. True gingham is distinguished primarily for being a "dyed in the yarn" fabric, meaning the yarn is dyed before it is woven. Jake Gallagher, GQ. I've finished a Gingham shirt with the new small collar. It seemed to be forgettable fabric, polyester, like school uniform fabric, but it made up rather well. No bias pockets or trim. I thought straight would make a change even if more fiddly. There was the new tiny collar, keeping the stand the same size as the deeper collar has helped it sit well. Perhaps it would be good to make a cutaway or rounded collar using this piece next time. On a different note, I use 'leader scraps' when I'm sewing to start off on a seam without having to hold the threads. My friend David Beschi saves and frames them bec...